Liu Wei looks to be only in his early twenties, but he is so shrewd and ruthless that he cannot be fooled at all.

Qu Yi had just said he needed to think about it, so Liu Wei gave him time to consider it carefully.

While you're considering, we can quickly get Liu Bei to join us in wiping out Qu Yi's men!

Qu Yi was dumbfounded.

"Your Highness...you mustn't do this!" Qu Yi pleaded desperately.

"Someone like you, who refused the chance I gave you just now, what am I supposed to do with you?" Liu Wei said expressionlessly.

On the battlefield, the guard battalion was like blood-stained demons, slaughtering madly.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei joined with a hundred men, but they didn't get many kills.

Zhang Fei, in particular, insisted on stabbing the enemy several times, which made him even less efficient at killing them.

However, the Imperial Guard and Guan Yu's troops, totaling 200 men, slaughtered the remaining Vanguard Battalion in one fell swoop.

The hillside was littered with corpses, and the blood was almost flowing like a small river.

The 800-strong vanguard battalion was wiped out just like that!

The Imperial Guard also suffered a loss of more than 20 men, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's subordinates were also reduced by half, leaving only more than 50 men!

Qu Yi watched as all his hard work in training vanished, his eyes wide with rage, but he had already bound himself.

"Oh dear! I'm going to die too!" Qu Yi's eyes turned red as he desperately stood up and rushed towards Liu Wei.

Yan Da pressed him down with one hand, as heavy as a boulder, rendering him unable to move.

"Your Highness, I have lost all my soldiers. Let me die!"

When Qu Yi saw that the seventeen guards around Liu Wei were all wearing masks and staring at him coldly like Yama, Qu Yi felt utterly hopeless.

"These mere barbarian soldiers are disloyal and fickle. If you run out of money, they will turn against you sooner or later!"

"I am helping you plan ahead."

Liu Wei said calmly, "Why use foreigners when we are supposed to be Han Chinese?"

Most of the soldiers in the Vanguard Battalion were Qiang people, and Qu Yi had an employer-employee relationship with them.

Once commissions stop, all goodwill vanishes!

Qu Yi saw that Liu Wei had hit the nail on the head, and he tacitly agreed, but then he realized that something was wrong!

What kind of people I use for my private army doesn't seem to be any of your business!

Isn't there a person of a different race beside you?

"Your Highness, if what you say is true, then this person..."

Qu Yi pointed to Murong Ping, who was standing next to Liu Wei. This man had brown hair and blue eyes and was clearly not Han Chinese. Liu Wei had him with him.

Saying something like that is such a double standard!

Does being stronger automatically make someone right?

"Because I gave him enough money, do you?" Liu Wei snorted. "Qu Yi, I'm not going to waste my breath on you!"

"I'll give you two choices!"

"First, you will follow me to Youzhou to fight the enemy, and I will immediately appoint you as a captain, commanding a thousand troops; second, you will stay in Anping to train troops for me. When I give the order, you will all rise up and respond to my call."

Qu Yi was surprised to hear that there was such a good thing as being able to stay in Anping.

"I choose option two, even if you kill me, I'll still choose option two!"

Qu Yi's wife, children, and family were all in Anping City and were unwilling to leave. "Your Highness, are you asking me to join you in a rebellion?"

Liu Wei did not answer, but turned to look at Liu Bei and laughed loudly, "Does this king need to rebel? Haha!"

Liu Bei felt a little uneasy under Liu Wei's gaze.

The prince's purpose in gathering 100,000 refugees in Pingyuan is highly suspicious. Now he has also ordered Qu Yi to train troops in Anping. Doesn't this make people even more suspicious?

He originally wanted to attach himself to Liu Wei so that he could develop his own power and build a great enterprise.

Little did they know that Liu Wei himself was restless!

this...

Liu Bei suddenly felt uneasy and secretly made up his mind: How can a great man remain subservient to others for long!

Liu Wei was naturally unaware of the turmoil in Liu Bei's mind.

"If I wanted to rebel, I would have done so back in Luoyang!"

"I respect your choice, Qu Yi. Since you have chosen to stay in Anping, then recruit refugees here, select the strong, and train another battalion of vanguard soldiers! The quota is 10,000. Can you do this for me?"

"What! Ten thousand vanguard troops!"

Qu Yi initially thought Liu Wei wanted him to retrain 800 men, but to his surprise, he asked for 10,000. "Your Highness, where will the soldiers and provisions come from?"

"When I go to Youzhou to fight, I will settle the refugees from Youzhou in Jizhou!"

Liu Wei waved his hand, "If nothing unexpected happens, at least 100,000 able-bodied refugees will be resettled in Anping. Prefect Qu should make the most of this opportunity!"

Jizhou was the most dangerous place during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and its population was extremely scarce.

With 100,000 refugees in Anping, there's so much Qu Yi can do!

Another 100,000 refugees!

Liu Bei stood there dumbfounded. Were these refugees as easy to find as a sow giving birth?

Liu Wei just had Jian Yong and Fu Shiren settle 100,000 refugees in Pingyuan, and now he's settling another 100,000 in Anping. This is outrageous!

"As for provisions, Ji Province has three major granaries: Julu, Yecheng, and Anping. I shouldn't need to figure out a solution for Prefect Qu!"

"Besides, Yuan Shao has just become the governor of Ji Province, right? You have 10,000 troops, he will definitely win you over! If you need money or grain, he will definitely be generous to you."

It would be excellent to have Yuan Shao provide the money and grain to support his army; the only question is whether Qu Yi can play the role well.

Liu Wei was certainly not afraid that Qu Yi would hold onto his military power or defect to Yuan Shao.

These 100,000 refugees were naturally redeemed from the system by him, and they only knew to be loyal to Liu Wei!

Upon hearing Liu Wei's rosy promises, Qu Yi was immediately tempted!

Not only could he act as a local tyrant, but he could also be won over by Yuan Shao and receive benefits from him, and secretly he was also a man of the King of Yunzhong.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!